Crate.



W W- H. RICHMOND.

CRATE.

APPLIOATION rmm JULY 8, 1905.

PATBNTED JAN. 9, 1906.

WITNESSES:

UNITED STATES i No. 809,326.

To all whom, it natty concern:

J Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. RICHMOND, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Mount Pleasant, in the county of Isabella and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Crates, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to improvements in crates especially designed for shipping fruits and vegetables in; and the object of my invention is to provide a light, strong, and durable construction which is cheap to manufacture and which has other desirable advantages, all as more fully hereinafter described and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is an elevation of my improved shipping-crate, one-half thereof being shown in vertical section. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on line 00 m in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an elevation of the partly-formed blank from which the metallic corner-stays are formed. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the corner-stay completed.

As shown in the drawings, my crate is of rectangular cross-section in regard to its horizontal dimensions, and its sides are inclined outwardly from the bottom up, so as to closely nest a number of crates together when empty, the top or cover forming a wholly detachable part which when the crate is filled may be held in place by tying it down with wire or otherwise. As regards the material, it is mainly composed of wooden slats of the same width and thickness throughout and spaced apart equally on all sides.

At each corner of the crate is a metallic corner-stay formed of a galvanized sheet-metal strip B, the ends of which are first cut, as shown in Fig. 3that is, the upperv end is formed into four tongues a I) 0 d, separated from each other by slits. The outer tongues a (Z are of equal length; but the tongue (Z is of greater width, the tongue 0 is shorter than the tongues a and d, and the tongue 6 is still Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 8, 1905. Serial No. 268,762.

PATENT oFFIon.

WILLIAM H. RICHMOND, OF MOUNT PLEASANT, MICHIGAN.

CRATE.

Patented Jan. 9, 1906.

and sides, respectively, while the tongues b and c are'merely bent inwardly, the shorter tongue 6 being covered by the tongue 0, which latter is long enough to project underneath the tongue a. In this manner the two sides of the angle become interlocked, and there is no sharp corner liable to cut the hands in handling the crates. As shown, the sides of the crate are longer than the ends, which gives the crate the most desirable form for handling, and as such a form will naturally be grasped by taking hold of the shorter ends I make the slats A which form the ends overlap the ends of the slats A which form the sides of the crate, giving it thus greater strength. The slats forming the sides and ends are secured to the corner-stays by nails which are clenched on the inside, and the hooked ends of the tongues a and d are also secured by clenched nails, all of which may be done over an iron form in a well-understood manner. By bending the blank upon the line g one angle of the corner-stay is made wider than the other; but since the end slats overlap the side slats at the corners the two angles of the stay overlap the sides and ends in the same degree, thus giving the same nailingspace for the slats. The tongues e f are bent inwardly, as shown, the tongue f being on the outside, the cutting away of a portion of this tongue being done on purpose to make the corner It less liable to catch on the clothing in handling.

With my construction the stays have the added function of corner-protectors, and the objection to metallic corner-stays as being liable to cut the hands or tear the clothes in handling by reason of exposed sharp corners is entirely avoided; further, the top slats of the ends being housed at their ends within the corner-stays serve as strong handles for carrying the crate, there being enough space to insert the fingers beneath them, and being substantially smooth and plain on the inside and outside they will closely nest together without injury to each other.

The bottom of the crate is formed by two transverse slats A which engage into the corners of the stays and of longitudinal slats A supported thereupon and fastened thereto by clenched nails. The transverse slats A thus keep the bottom of the crate free from the ground and form an air-space beneath, which ventilates the contents and makes the crate especially adapted for the storage of fruits and vegetables.

For shipping the crate is provided with a cover G, formed of two transverse slats A and of longitudinal slats A secured to the transverse slats by nailing. The longitudinal slats are of a length to support the cover upon the two ends, and it may be wired thereto in any suitable manner.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim is 1. A metallic corner-stay foracrate having its sides and ends formed of slats, said stay formed of a strip of sheet metal bent into the form of an angle-bar and provided with extensions at the upper end of the sides forming the angle of the bar which are adapted to be hooked over the top slats in the corners of the crate and with an extension adapted to'fold on top of one of the aforesaid slats and interlock with the extension which hooks over said slat and thereby prevent the angle-bar from spreading out at the upper end.

2. A crate provided with metallic cornerstays formed of a metal strip bent into the form of an angle conforming to the corners of the crate and to which the ends of the slats forming the ends and sides of the crate are secured, said stay formed with extensions at the upper ends which are hooked over the top slats and are secured thereto and also with an extension engaging into the hook formed by one of the aforesaid extensions.

3. A metallic corner-stay for a crate having its sides and ends formed of slats and secured to metallic stays at the corners of the crate, said stay formed of a strip of sheet metal bent to form an angle-bar conforming to the corners formed by the junction of the sides and ends of the crate and provided with extensions at the upper and lower ends, those at the upper end comprising the tongues a Z) 0 adapted to form an interlocked housing for the top slats in the manner described.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM H. RICHMOND.

Witnesses:

G. M. BALDWIN, A. A. LOVELAND. 

